The materials handled at a hazardous waste site are normally analyzed only for compatibility (acid, base, organic, etc.), because a complete analysis is too costly and time-consuming for the many thousands of samples that must be characterized at a hazardous waste site. The resultant data is sufficient to prevent explosions or the generation of toxic gas clouds from the mixing of incompatible materials (such as conc. acids and bases). However, very little information is generated that is useful from a toxicological standpoint. For example, a waste that is classified as "organic" may contain acrylic paint, ink, phenol-formaldehyde resin, benzaldehyde, or parathion. Thus, it is difficult to use a knowledge of material content to guide worker protection programs. A need exists for a rapid chemical analysis screening procedure that will give chemical data beyond that which is obtainable via compatibility tests. This proposal addresses the concept of using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) to fulfill the above need. The rapid scanning capability of an FTIR is used to allow the high sample throughput required of any assay technique employed at a hazardous waste remedial action project. An attenuated total reflectance (ATR) cell is utilized to overcome the problem of samples that would normally be considered opaque to infrared energy because of suspended solids. The identity of compounds and compound classes will be determined through the use of computerized library search and spectral interpretation techniques. These data will be compared to those from both compatibility testing and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric methods. A compatibility testing scheme incorporating the FTIR-ATR protocol into personal protection strategies will then be formulated. Several extended compatibility testing schemes have been proposed that may fulfill some of the above objectives. These rely on wet chemistry and are time consuming (1.3 man hr/sample), require skilled chemists to carry out, and are prone to interferences. FTIR would provide a rapid, cost-effective complement to existing methods, thereby providing data for many classes of compounds. This would allow personal protection strategies to be formulated on the basis of sound industrial hygiene principles.